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Water, water, and more water news.
April 6, 2016 - 2:18pm
for all things water related.
along with the NEB controling the Fraser River water shed, an area covering thousands of miles, we now have this heavily biased BC Water law.
'Bizarre' clause in new B.C. water legislation raises concerns
The Essential Struggle
Popular resistance can turn water from a source of profits to a base for anticapitalist organizing.
The Flint crisis is the direct result of Governor Rick Snyder’s imposition of an emergency manager, who prioritized bond payments over local democracy and safety. Emergency management was also the culprit for the water catastrophe in neighboring Detroit, where the city shut off water services for about 40 percent of its residents in 2015 — many of whom were not even delinquent on their bills.
Meanwhile, last year in Baltimore the city threatened to shut off water for nearly 25,000 low-income residents who were behind on payments. Notably, Baltimore businesses, government offices, and nonprofits that were also in arrears did not receive shut-off notices.
Similar situations are fast becoming an international phenomenon — especially in indigenous communities.
The First Nations community of Shoal Lake near Winnipeg, Manitoba offers a glimpse of Flint’s possible future. Shoal Lake — like roughly two-thirds of First Nations reserves in Canada — is currently under a boil-water advisory (meaning that all water on the reserve must be boiled to kill E. coli before it can be drunk or otherwise used). Shoal Lake has been under the advisory for seventeen years, with no end in sight.
Shoal Lake residents are forced to live with dirty water despite the fact that the reserve taps the same water source used by the city of Winnipeg. But while Winnipeg has access to clean municipal water — made possible by a water treatment plant — Shoal Lake is not so lucky.
Instead, it is stranded on a man-made island (formed after a nearly century-old decision to flood a portion of traditional Ojibwa land to create an aqueduct for Winnipeg’s water system) with no way to get to the mainland except boat or a decrepit ferry. This leaves Shoal Lake residents, many of whom are impoverished, unable to even drive to a nearby town to purchase clean water or other basic supplies. The community has long demanded its own water treatment plant, but has been roundly ignored by the Canadian government....
Energy East could put drinking water at risk for five million people, report warns
Just outside the northern Ontario community of Kenora in the Lake of the Woods district, Teika Newton can look out her front door and see two of the pristine bodies of water the region gains its name from.
But like many residents in the area, Newton is worried that an oil spill from the proposed Energy East pipeline could spoil that natural beauty forever.
It’s not an idle worry.
quote:
One pipeline rupture could contaminate drinking water for years to come
The report cites TransCanada’s record on pipeline ruptures and spills. The natural gas pipeline proposed for conversion - the very same one running through Newton’s property - has had 10 ruptures over the past 25 years.
The company’s Keystone pipeline leaked 71 times in its Canadian section in the first two years of operation.....
..these cables were made public by wikileaks.
We’re running out of water, and the world’s powers are very worried
Secret conversations between American diplomats show how a growing water crisis in the Middle East destabilized the region, helping spark civil wars in Syria and Yemen, and how those water shortages are spreading to the United States.
Classified U.S. cables reviewed by Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting show a mounting concern by global political and business leaders that water shortages could spark unrest across the world, with dire consequences.
Many of the cables read like diary entries from an apocalyptic sci-fi novel.
“Water shortages have led desperate people to take desperate measures with equally desperate consequences,” according to a 2009 cable sent by U.S. Ambassador Stephen Seche in Yemen as water riots erupted across the country....
Pennsylvania Community Defeats Nestlé's Attempt to Privatize Its Water
quote:
"For all of these reasons and others, and in mutual agreement with the landowner," Andreaus read, "Nestlé Waters is withdrawing its pending zoning permit application."
The room erupted in cheers and for the first time since Nestlé began meeting with community members about the project, the company received a standing ovation.
Since 2012, Nestlé Waters had been active in the small, rural community of Kunkletown, Pennsylvania, conducting water testing and laying the groundwork for a water extraction facility to be sited on private land. The company had proposed to pump 200,000 gallons of water per day from the local aquifer, put it in trucks and transfer it to an existing bottling facility near Allentown, about 20 miles away. It had planned to pump for 10 years with an option to continue pumping for an additional 15 years, leading to the removal of up to 1.8 billion gallons of water from the aquifer during the life of the wells.
This proposal did not sit well with residents of Kunkletown and nearby communities. Once they discovered Nestlé's plan, they mobilized quickly and efficiently. People began attending local government meetings and requesting planning and zoning documents. They feared a depletion of their water resources and balked at the notion that a corporation could make billions off a community resource many felt shouldn't be privatized.
Anishinabek respond to Waukesha water decision
Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee says he is greatly disappointed after the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Regional Body voted on June 21 to allow Waukesha, Wisconsin to divert water from Lake Michigan .
“This is the beginning of the water wars that we were warned about and this will open doors for other jurisdiction outside the Great Lakes Basin to tap into the waters,” says Grand Council Chief Madahbee. “First Nations on the Canadian side have not been consulted as per the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to which both Canada and the United States are signatory. Here we go again, just like the treaties, UNDRIP is being ignored.”
The City of Waukesha will withdraw 31 million litres daily from Lake Michigan. Waukesha is the first straddling community to request water under the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement & Compact with exception standards between two Canadian Provinces and eight Governing States that ban diversions of water away from the Great Lakes....
Water Keepers Journey: group on Indigenous canoe trek
A group of women from Wahnapitae First Nations is in the early stages of a 19-day ceremonial, Indigenous canoe trip from Sudbury to Sault Ste. Marie.
The Water Keepers Journey started at sunrise Sunday morning from Lake Wahnapitae.
The group plans to paddle 458 kilometres to Garden River First Nations, travelling between 20-30 kilometres per day.
"Indigenous peoples in general are just very in touch with the water and the lands and just nature in general, and it's very important for us that we ensure that it remains protected," said Dakota Recollet, spokesperson for the group.
Recollet said the first day on the water was extremely challenging because of the strong wind and choppy water.
The paddlers are heading to the Great Lakes Water Gathering, which will be held in Garden River First Nation between July 14-17.
The water gathering is an Indigenous led coalition of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people collaborating on ways to protect water....
ACTIONS AS DECIDED BY THE ELDERS’ COUNCIL OF THE GREAT LAKES GATHERING
Everywhere all over the world we are witnessing the utter destruction of our waters. Pipelines, nuclear waste, fracking, plastics, toxins, invasive species and chemical run off. With climate change and the political actions that support this continued destruction, this can seem like a mountain impossible to climb. Even political will cannot reverse this process because it is the social conscience of the people that needs to change. We are seeing this change within people everywhere. Everywhere people are waking up and taking actions and speaking out for the waters.
Over 300 people met in council over four days in Garden River First Nation from July 14-17, 2016 at the Great Lakes Gathering to deliberate and pray for the waters of the Great Lakes. We met in circles of Men, Women, Two-spirit people, and Youth, and presented our ideas to the Elders Council. The Elders met, deliberated, and this is the direction they provided to all of us....
Barcelona votes for public control of water
For the first time, a large majority of the Barcelona City Council supports ending the private management of water in our city. Barcelona En Comú believes that water is a human right, a basic service and a common good that should be under public, democratic control.
On Friday, November 25th, Barcelona En Comu presented a motion to take back direct public management of the water cycle, one of the main promises of our manifesto. This proposal was also one of the most popular among citizens in the participatory process carried out to define the Municipal Action Plan (the plan that guides city policy).
All the leftist groups of the Barcelona City Council voted in favor of the motion, meaning that the government can move forward with its plan to remunicipalize the water service in the metropolitan area. The water service is currently in the hands of the mixed society that controls distribution in the 23 municipalities of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB), of which Agbar is the majority shareholder. The council also approved a similar motion by the CUP Barcelona....
Thanks, epaulo, very important reports! I'll have to find the Barcelona one in Spanish or Catalan for a friend here. I love the Great Lakes Gathering image.
..your most welcome lagatta.
Agreed!
..this continues to be an extraordinary and important struggle.
Flint: As 2 Unelected Emergency Managers Are Charged over Water Poisoning, Will Gov. Snyder Be Next?
quote:
AMY GOODMAN: Earlier this month, the Senate signed off on a $170 million federal aid package for Flint. The number, the figure, $170 million, also is supposed to include money for a national health registry for children exposed to lead. So what’s happening with that money? And what about this registry? Do you have concerns?
NAYYIRAH SHARIFF: Right now, nothing has really happened. And with this federal money, it’s still going to be administered by the state. And so, the state, which is responsible for poisoning Flint residents—so, they could use this as an opportunity to force like coercive measures upon the city as a—as a quid pro quo to access this money.
AMY GOODMAN: Finally, Nayyirah Shariff, you just went from Flint to Standing Rock in North Dakota. We just have a minute, but why? What do you see is the connection between what’s happening in North Dakota and Flint?
NAYYIRAH SHARIFF: Well, we’re in this nascent stage of these water wars. And hopefully, what’s happening at Standing Rock—we have the same corporations and the same ideology that is pushing for DAPL. It’s the same ideology that created the emergency manager law, this thing for austerity and privatization and resource extraction for short-term gain, without the impact—without humanity being in that equation. And I felt like I needed to have my body on the ground there as a show of support.
Landowner Loses Fight to Sue Regulator in Fracking Case
The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled Jessica Ernst can’t sue the powerful and controversial Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) over alleged violations of her Charter rights.
The split ruling Friday — five justices rejected her claim, with four supporting it — is a setback for the protection of groundwater and the rights of landowners dealing with provincial energy regulators, often funded or captured by industry interests, say many critics and lawyers.
The majority, led by Justice Thomas Cromwell, upheld an immunity clause passed by the legislature that protects the Alberta Energy Regulator from any Charter claims or lawsuits.
In 2007, Ernst, an oil patch environmental consultant, sued the Alberta government, Encana and the regulator for negligence over the contamination of local aquifers near her Rosebud home allegedly caused by the hydraulic fracturing of shallow gas wells in 2004....
Things are getting serious with Cape Town’s water crisis
Researchers have sounded the alarm over Cape Town’s water situation and urged the city to ramp up its water conservation campaigns.
The municipality says its reservoirs are at 42.5% full but could drop to 20% in the next few months.
University of Cape Town Environmental and Geographical Sciences lecturer Kevin Winter told EWN that things are pretty serious.
“We can’t see any rain on the horizon. And right now, in terms of our dam storage levels, we’re probably approaching the ‘100 days left of storage’.”
When levels get to 20% things get serious difficult....
TO:
Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR) Registry
swr-psu@ontario.ca
Make your letter count!
Please add your own words and describe why this is important to you.
.........
Unbottle water for Ontario’s communities! Submit your comments by January 31
On December 2, 2016, the Ontario government once again asked the public for input on its water laws, this time on potential new rules renewing bottled water permits.
At first glance, it looks impressive. But in fact what the government has proposed is just more of the same. Instead of saying ‘no’ to wasteful and unnecessary use of water, the government will make decisions based on studies provided by the corporations seeking permits.
The government doesn’t have the best decision-making record when it comes to protecting water from companies like Nestlé. Just ask the Township of Centre Wellington, who needed another well for their drinking water but had it bought out from under them by Nestlé.
Communities trying to save their water – with the help of the Council of Canadians – from bottled water plants, quarries and garbage dumps have complained that the government seems to rubber-stamp corporate permits with little regard for residents’ concerns.....